Colorful Mind
by Cremateme
Summary: Setting is one month after Naru left for England, and..comes back?
1. Cracks

I haven't read all of the novels, only what I've found that's been translated into English. Believe me, if I had, I would be writing something that continued after_ that.  
><em>Still, there are spoilers that lead until up to the end of vol. 12 of the manga. There are a lot of ideas floating around in my head for this story, but for now, your feedback would be greatly appriciated! ;D

**If I owned this series, the novels would all be in English by now! **

_;_

The world was spinning, but all Mai Taniyama could do at the present time was stare at the ceiling. Her thoughts were on one thing, one person. Though, she wondered, could he even be called one person?

Oliver Davis was a man who hid behind many masks, after all.

Who was he, really? The answer couldn't come to her, perhaps because it was an answer no one really knew.

No, that wasn't true. _He _had. But she hadn't really known him, either.

She hadn't even known _his _name. When _he _was the one who had been appearing in her dreams all along.

And then she realized, _he _slipped into her thoughts just as, if not more, easily than his stoic counterpart.

"If I called out your name, would you finally come back to me?" The words simply echoed, and she was left to contemplate who, in fact, those words were aimed towards.

Another mystery that could, quite possibly, never come to light.

Still staring at the worn, but somehow fascinating ceiling, she was beyond caring how desperate she sounded. For all she cared, the ceiling could cave in on her. It would serve her right.

For not realizing...

For not stopping him...

For not saying the truth.

The lovely, former assistant of one Kazuya Shibuya was of course talking about the result of the events that had taken place a month previously.

A month ago, her former boss and his similarly enigmatic assistant had gone back to England after retrieving said bosses twin's body from the bottom of a lake. A lake that of course, had to have been located in a completely remote, outdated location.

Mai felt extremely selfish for thinking it, but she was almost grateful that it had been in such an off beaten area. If it wasn't, would she have ever have gotten a glimpse at the man who now constantly invaded her thoughts? Would she ever have learned the identity of the counterpart, who had quite literally haunted her dreams?

In truth, Mai was beginning to understand that the real reason why she thought about it so much was because she was lonely. Shibuya Psychic Research center remained open, but even with the rest of her family-Madoka being a new addition, surrounding her, she felt an inherent gap.

She had no one there to scold her,

no one there to chase the demons in her dreams.

Her eyes eventually became too tired to keep their gaze, so instead of the ceiling, she squeezed them shut, forcing away images of the object of her hurting heart.

Tomorrow was a work day, and it was already almost midnight.

_'I wonder who's been making his tea...' _ Her mind formed a half-coherent image of a rabbit holding a watch and a broken tea cup before drifting into a fitful sleep.

* * *

><p>Her morning was quiet, apart from the persistent screech of the tea kettle as it announced, rather obnoxiously, that the water inside was ready. She hastily grabbed the kettle, pouring the steaming water over a bag of cheap black tea. Settling down on the small sofa in the equally small living room, Mai waited for the beverage to cool, recalling how much the screeching noise had frightened her as a child.<p>

Her first encounter with the horrid noise was surprisingly one of the clearest memories she had left of her mother.

_Growing up,she remembered her mother had actually never been very fond of tea. _

_"It used to be my job to prepare the tea for guests. Too many memories of being burned. Just the smell of it seems bitter, now." Her mother had explained, a distant look on her face as she filled a large kettle with water and set in on the stove to heat up. "However, hospitality comes before personal preference, and I don't want your fathers grandparents to think I'm raising you incorrectly." She laughed fondly and ruffled little Mai's mop of hair. "I've got to go get dressed, sweetie. Go play, but try not to get dirty, okay? And don't touch the stove."_

Unfortunately, her mother had forgotten to mention that the sound of a tea kettle was rather startling, especially to a small child who had never heard anything remotely like it before. Even after her mother had explained what it was, Mai had still been too afraid to enter the kitchen unaccompanied for the next month or so.

Now that she thought about it, her mother had often appeared to be a very flighty person, to say the least. Mai wondered if people would think them alike, were she still alive...

"Kami, Mai..All you do is think about dead people." She scolded herself halfheartedly, taking a large sip of the beverage that had appeared to have cooled off during her inner reflection. It hadn't.

"Owww, Owww, Owwwwwww!" During times like this, she was glad she lived by herself. Like Naru needed more ammunition to insult her with.

Naru.

Mai sighed, and glanced up at the clock on the stove top reflexively.

She was going to be late. 'What a surprise..'She thought dryly.

Ten minutes later, Mai was already headed out the door before she realized an important and discouraging fact-She was still in her pajamas.

Call it woman's, psychic, or animal intuition, this was bound to be a difficult day.

* * *

><p>EndPrologue.<p> 


	2. Missing

**This is what I did today, in place of Sociology homework about being rich in Russia, and actually communicating with my friends outside of noncommittal 'yes' and 'nos'. The ideas just wouldn't leave me alone...Gah. Feedback is love. **

;

Madoka Mori was generally known by her fellow peers in SPR as a kind, patient woman. Coupled with her sharp mind and intuition, she was seen as an excellent candidate to teach the why's and how to's of Ghost Hunting. Observe, Interact, Decipher. She taught her students to use their natural abilities, as well as common sense, to scientifically approve or disprove the presence of paranormal activity.

All in all, Madoka Mori was seen as an amicable, beautiful, and capable woman.

Today was already proving to be an enormous exception to that generalization.

Actually, the entire weekend had proven to be an exception, but seeing as it was Monday morning, no one else in the office of SPR knew that, yet, because it was 8:30 AM and no one but herself, and an utterly oblivious {Yet, rather handsome if she did say so herself} man were there.

A man which she would proceed to have a glorious time of berating on the etiquette of 'calling before coming', as she so in-eloquently put. That all happened before the call came, and a miserable, drenched assistant marched through the doorway of Shibuya Psychic Research center.

* * *

><p>Mai could tell she was in trouble as soon as she walked into the office, though the air felt a bit too thick for it to just be because she was so late.<p>

Of course, she had marched in rather unceremoniously, covered from head to toe in rain and sludge.

How ominously sinister.

Did she mention this was going to be a bad day, yet?

Madoka and Lin stood in the doorway of the presidential office, engaged in a heated discussion as sh-

Wait, Lin?

Mai's vision did a double take as she re-evaluated, and confirmed, that the tall, foreboding looking man an obviously irate Makoka was talking to, was indeed Lin Koujo.

She almost, _almost, _ran straight through the doorway and tackle hugged the man in surprise, before really taking in the twin expressions on the two adults faces.

It wasn't quite worry, more like a mixture of emotions, ranging from reluctance to indignation-and it probably didn't help that she was standing there gawking, covering the carpet in rain water, half an hour late for her job. She hung her head in shame, wishing her 'invaluable' ESP would have warned her of this before she had just barged in.

_'What to do...'_

"Well, are you going to just stand there?"

Madoka's voice was sharp, biting even. It was so unlike her that Mai could've mistaken the tone for Naru's if it hadn't obviously been a woman's voice. Mai shook her head, splattering the walls with water, and Madoka sighed heavily.

"I'm not even going to ask why you're so late. Go make some tea, Mai. I'll deal with you later."

Her tone was softer, but the way she said it still felt shocking to Mai's ears. For the second time that day, she put a pot of water on a stove and let her mind wander as she waited for the water to heat up. Something was definitely off. If Madoka was in a mood, and Lin was here...

_Wait, could that mean Naru was also here? _Mai couldn't believe the thought hadn't crossed her mind when she had first set her sights on the tall man. After all, wasn't he assigned to watch over the great Oliver Davis? Or, maybe that had only been when he'd been in Japan? She didn't know. She was so confused.

Why did everything surrounding Naru have to be so mysterious?

The kettle went off and Mai tore herself away from her thoughts, happy to be able to concentrate on something so simple, yet preoccupying.

She entered the plain sitting room, setting down a tray holding three porcelain tea cups and a plate of sugar biscuits. She snatched one off the plate, figuring it would have to substitute as a flimsy breakfast.

Neither of the two thanked her, though Lin nodded as he took a cup. Madoka was ignoring her, though it was unintentionally. She was on the phone, flickers of different emotions flashing across her face as she listened to a person-it sounded like a woman-on the other end of the line.

"So, I guess you must be wondering why I'm here, Taniyama-san." Lin's voice interrupted her blatant attempt at spying, the words echoing throughout her mind in an attempt of comprehension. She guessed the familiar face had made the already unusual morning feel even more surreal, thus leaving her a little brain-dead. Temporarily, of course.

They had never been friends, not quite, but his voice still sounded gentle in comparison to the way it had sounded when she had first met him. And compared to the tone her former boss had usually used on her? Heh.

"Mhmmm."

Mai nodded and took a sip of her tea, trying not show her confusion and excitement too obviously, though if the twitch of his left eyebrow told her anything, she was failing miserably.

He had been about to say something in response, or so she thought, but by this time Madoka was off the phone and eager to take control of the not-quite-yet-conversation.

"Mai, have you heard from Naru at all?" She questioned point black, an indecipherable mask on her face as she gingerly picked up her cup of tea and held it in her lap.

Mai's eyes immediately widened in confusion. "N-No...I mean, not since..then.." Her voice tapered off, gaze switching back and forth between the two expressionless adults in front of her.

_'So, he's not with Lin...'_

"And..Eugene?" Lin prodded, after a moment of silence.

Now it was Mai's turn to be indignant as she glared with a look of surprise and hurt.

"You know he's gone. Every since that day...He passed on! Why are you bring this up? Is something wrong?"

She couldn't keep the panic from her voice, as a sudden feeling of dread made it's way up from her gut.

"I got a call yesterday morning, at an incredibly indecent hour, may I add." Madoka explained, her gaze flickering to Mai, and glaring at Lin, who somehow managed to look sheepish.

'_No...No...Naru...'_

"He's been missing since Saturday night."

* * *

><p>After having broken at least half a dozen tea cups on accident and proving utterly useless on finding the missing Professor, Mai had been sent home 'until further notice'.<p>

While she had protested as much as she could, even Mai couldn't win against Madoka in a staring match, and the woman had admittedly proven that logically, Mai wouldn't be much help to them there.

"Take a nap, Mai. Maybe your dreams could be of some help." Madoka had prodded, and Lin had nodded in agreement, although they all knew she hadn't been able to use her ability since Gene had passed on. Mai just prayed that once they contacted Bou-san and the others, they could be of more help. Before making her way out, Mai had made them assure her to call when they got any new information.

As she made her way home, walking to the train in the still rainy weather, she gripped the only thing left that could keep her mind from floating off out of reality. The photo of him and Gene.

* * *

><p>Once on the train, Mai took the faded photo out of her pocket, examining the faces of the twins-mesmerized by the unnatural wisdom that appeared in both of their eyes, even at such a young age. And then, something occurred to her. Something that had crossed her mind when she had first walked in that day, but had been quickly brushed aside as the story of Naru's disappearance had been revealed.<p>

Why _was _Lin in Japan?

Even if Naru was missing, there was no logical reason for him to be looking in Japan and not England, especially so early on. In fact, now that the shock had worn off, Mai was noticing several in discrepancies of the occurrence itself. If Naru had just been reported missing, why did it seem like they were more worried about asking Mai if she had heard from him than finding out where he was? Why had they seemed more _angry _than scared? And of course, why had they asked about _Gene?_

Oliver Davis, in the crowd of Parapsychology, was _famous. _Mai could certainly respect a healthy dose of discrepancy, but this wasn't a case like Gene's. They didn't know if he was...

'_No, I won't even think that. He's definitely not dead. I can feel it.'_ And she could. For most people, the very thought of the death of a loved one was something that would encourage denial, but while Mai would never _want _to admit something like that, she had dealt with too much death in her lifetime to bother with denying something like that. After all, it wouldn't change the truth, no matter how much someone might wish it would.

For Mai, it was simply her intuition at play. And her intuition was telling her another thing as well, something that suddenly felt as clear as day, as she sat on the train staring down at the little photograph.

Wherever Naru was, Mai was sure to find him. Because she had a feeling he was looking for her, too.

* * *

><p><strong>EndChapter. And note; no, Naru isn't going to be looking for Mai for some lovesick puppy reason. Ew.<strong>


	3. Hakase

**Hey-Okay, I decided to edit the AN at the beginning of this chapter to just say THANK YOU~~To everyone who's reviewed,ect. Just seeing the number of hits makes me so happy! C:  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>; Approximately one week before the disappearance of Oliver Davis -<em>

For the third time that week, Oliver Davis had awoken in a world that was not his own.

This world was unconventional, and unfamiliar, though to say it was foreign would be a drastic conclusion that only the brash and foolish would make. Simply put- this wasn't a world a _person _could truly awaken in, it was reserved for things of the spiritual realm.

He knew from the first time he had 'awoken', that he was not brought to this plane by a power of his own.

'Gene...?'

In truth, that had been the first thing to cross his mind. Even if he had come back to England to bury his brother and subsequently put his spirit to rest, that didn't necessarily mean it would work. Besides that, he knew that he, himself had never shown any signs of astral projection, and the ability in itself was rare to say the least. So it had to be Gene..

Unless.

God, he hoped not.

He had researched furiously that day after, beyond mildly agitated when the results proved completely fruitless to his hopes. In fact, if anything it had made it more clear that his hunch was most likely correct. Which was a very, very bad thing, if you didn't already guess that from the effort the narcissist had exerted to try to prove his _own theory _incorrect.

Had hell frozen over, yet?

* * *

><p>Present time;<p>

Oliver Davis, the incorrigible narcissist himself, never ceased to be amazed with the stupidity of the common man. Or woman. Or recklessly oblivious young girl who's hair could easily be mistaken for that of a young boy.

Not that he payed that much attention to the details of her appearance.

It was 3 PM, Tuesday afternoon, and the rain clouds, coupled with the rain itself, had yet to let up on the unassuming-but far from innocent city in which he currently found himself, following said oblivious girl.

A lesser man would probably be cowering under an umbrella right about now, half jogging through the blowing rain to get home to whatever pathetic semblance of a life he had concocted for himself. A luckier man wouldn't even be out in the rain-safe at home with his wife and children in front of the fireplace that he had probably built himself, wearing a pair of posh reading glasses and sounding undeniably philosophical.

However, to anyone that knew him, it was rather common knowledge that Naru, Oliver Davis, was neither a lesser- or lucky man. In fact, if any of his acquaintances were asked, they would probably describe him as either arrogant, brilliant, or, his favorite, a cold and emotionally inept 'machine'.

The last description unsurprisingly stemming from the simplistic mind of the annoyance in front of him.

He figured it was futile trying to understand someone so intellectually beneath him, and instead bargained to observe the subject, trying to form some kind of shoddy respect. No matter how much he tried, watching a nearly full grown woman splashing around in puddles like a two year old could garner none.

'Always the humble one..' He could almost hear the playfully cynical voice of Gene, berating him for his lack of tact and humility. Though the voice was meant to be humorous, the feeling it left was still carved raw, sectioned off in the furthest depth of consciousness he could control, and waiting to be deciphered some gloomy, self reflective day.

Oliver brushed the frittering piece of nostalgia away, instead choosing to focus an increasing amount of irritation on the bundle of joy walking/skipping/playing in front of him.

In the flesh, the idiot herself, the true, the _only, _Mai Taniyama sparked even more of a reaction in him than he could remember from before.

'Why her?' He couldn't help but let his inner dialogue become tinged with a fleeting bit of self pity. 'Of all the people to connect yourself with, why her?'

For once, the subsequent chuckle ringing through his ears was incapable of ignoring, and he truly wondered, momentarily, if he was going insane.

'She's contagious...'

* * *

><p>"Mai."<p>

One word, that's all it took.

Any lesser woman would have shrunk back, flinching and subconsciously belittling themselves at the very tone of the young-but imposing man that had abruptly gathered Mai's attention. Any luckier woman would have never even gained his attention in the first place. Maybe they would have passed each other, walking through the busy streets of Tokyo one day. Maybe she would've noticed his starkly handsome looks, even creating some tragic fantasy in her mind of the man and his reason behind his guarded expression.

Anyone but Mai, would've remained oblivious. Because regardless of what the idiot scientist believed, Mai was anything but oblivious when it came to the subtle frequency of human emotion. And if anyone that knew her, or even knew _of_ her-seeing as she was an open book-would be asked to describe her, they would probably use the words warm, empathetic, and, her personal favorite, wholeheartedly dimwitted.

The biggest difference in this repeat of expression, is not the differing of role or gender, but rather the differing directions taken when filtered between the two completely opposite minds. For example, rather than being arrogant or sarcastic, Mai sought for only for recognition and improvement. She wasn't humble, but she wasn't a big-headed narcissist.

Speaking of which..

"Took you long enough!" She replied to his blunt tone with ten times the cheek, and twice the passion. After all, it had been a bit tiresome for her to have to pretend not to notice that someone had been trailing her for quite some time. At first, she had assumed she was simply being paranoid. After she realized she _wasn't, _well..Then she was just curious on how long they would keep it up before realizing how conspicuous they were.

That was Mai, for you.

Mai hadn't the slightest clue it had been Naru following her the whole time ,but it just proved to show she always knew how to press his buttons, as witnessed by the subtle indent of his cheek as he bit it, reigning in his quick witted tongue before it could lash out.

Too late.

He rolled his eyes as he looked her up and down, and then looked away, seemingly unimpressed with what he saw.

_"Because I'm the idiot who can't even tell that someone's been following her for the past ten minutes, so immersed in splashing around in puddles and ruining what slovenly rags I can afford on my low budget salary. Mai, you've gotten even brighter in the time I've been gone, haven't you?"_

Mai's eyebrows had long since hit her hairline, as she stopped herself minutely from spluttering like an idiot. At least by now she knew him well enough to not give in to his petty insults. Because she so wasn't doing that.

"...Are you kidding me?" She chose to growl instead, assuring herself that it wasn't nearly as dumb as the narcissist jerk rant she had been about to go on for the 300th time.

His bored expression assured her that, _no, _he wasn't. And she snapped.

"Yo-You..._bastard. _It's been a **month** and jerk doesn't even cover it anymore! What have you been doing? Going through some boot camp for people that will never have anyone but themselves to relate to? Of course, you'd probably just _love _that, wouldn't you? Why are you even here, Naru? Come to rub some more salt in your 'idiot assistants' wounds? Or no, your pride obviously wouldn't let you steep so low. So what is it then? Do you have another dead relative to find, because I hate to disappoint you, _Professor_, but my dreams have _unfortunately _been devoid of secrets and lies for the past month. Sorry for wasting your precious time."

Though the way she twisted her words around had admittedly gotten more impressive, it wasn't as if Oliver Davis had expected to stumble upon a willingly submissive, pleasant girl. Mai Taniyama was, after all, anything but. However, even he was a bit alarmed at the acidic remarks she had made, especially pertaining to Gene.

But now wasn't the time to stand around like an idiot in the rain-because unlike Mai, he wasn't one.

"I'm afraid the reasoning isn't nearly as _pleasant, _but I can assure you I will deliver it with more grace than you can seem to muster." His eyes burned into hers challengingly, and Mai finally looked down, blushing and ashamed of herself.

"Where to, _Professor Davis_?" She said quietly, eager to get out of the rain and away from the intensity of his glare.

"Hotel." He walked away in a dismissive manner, expecting her to follow, while silently nursing the budding headache her ranting had given him. She would have to be reminded later not to use his name so openly.

'Follow the leader, because after all, there's nothing better for you to do!' Mai's thoughts were seething, but she couldn't keep herself from cheering up, however marginally, as the rain started to lighten up. It was like some bored, melodramatic kid out there was making a drama out of their lives.

Mai glared at Naru halfheartedly, before giving in and catching up to him.

The aura around the two remained rather grumpy, but there was a silent understanding between the duo as they walked to the hotel, however oblivious they might have been to it.

* * *

><p><em>Somewhere, a person with a gentle smile was waking up for the first time in a month. <em>

* * *

><p><strong>EndChapter. <em>next time; Should Mai slap a hoe? <em>Against the fence to get the mud off of it. Feedback=3  
><strong>


	4. Dreamland

**Thank you for your feedback, and alerts, and blahblahblahhh. I'm probably going to get tired of saying this every chapter. xD I update fast, I know. Right now I don't have much to do. Dx Or more like I'm putting it all off. Agh. : / Anyways****, enjoy. Hopefully this story will seem to make more sense soon~  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>Tell me how it feels,<em>

_To know that this is just my dream._

_And it's your, reality._

_Scarlet Letter part II - Halifax._

After the uneventful trudge to the quaint bed and breakfast style hotel Naru had checked them into, Mai was more than ready to take a hot shower and promptly pass out. Curiosity be damned.

However, she was unwilling to let go of one question at the moment...

"Why did the lady at the reception desk call you Tanaka-san?" She asked, doe eyes wide and seemingly unassuming. _Yeah, right._

Naru rolled his eyes at Mai, albeit halfheartedly, given that he was just as, if not more tired than she was. "I thought Madoka already told you, I've been officially reported missing. It's not like I can walk around using the name Kazuya Shibuya, even if that is just an alias."

Mai had been about to ask another question, but Naru gave her a look that said 'can it, please.' And so, only because it had contained that slightly pleading expression, she did just that.

;

The room they were staying in was fairly large, and obviously expensive, though the westernized theme attempted to make it appear more cozy than brazen. Mai was gracious enough to warrant it attention, though not at the moment. Right now the best thing in her eyes was the fact that it had a huge, inviting shower, and two full sized beds.

"This is heaven~" She smiled widely, completely ignoring her former boss while she could, and taking off towards the bathroom.

"Taking a shower!"

Naru plopped down on his bed and grabbed the hotel phone, hoping to get the call he needed to make over with before his loud mouthed assistant returned.

* * *

><p>One hour and numerous bouts of awkward silence later, Naru shut the book he'd been looking through and calmly stated he was going to try to get some rest, rudely adding that she looked like she needed some too. Mai resisted the urge to be sarcastic, giving him instead a small smile and inwardly hoping he would be more willing to answer her questions when he was well rested. She would add in a better mood, but when did that ever happen?<p>

Fifteen minutes later, Mai felt herself nodding off after becoming extremely bored snooping through the book Naru had been reading from.

"Seriously.." She stated, drowsily. "What kind of guy reads about soul bonds in their spare time.."

It almost sounded cheesy..

* * *

><p><em>A voice was calling her.<em>

She knew that to be true, even as she lay asleep with no conscious recognition of such a voice. It was just a feeling, a perception. Or maybe a memory of what was yet to come.

Time was such a precious thing, but in the astral plane, time had no meaning except the little impressions left by the time spent in the human world. And while humans and souls often co-existed, they were completely different things.

"Mai..?"

His voice held a tenderness, now mixed with awe, that his twin's never had. Mai often wondered how she could've ever considered them the same, replaying old memories of a place that seemed so unreal, haunting in the shadows between fact and fiction.

"Gene." His name slipped out of her mouth naturally, as if she had known him for an eternity. And who knew, maybe she had, though not in the way most would consider 'knowing' someone. After all, she had always assumed him to be his twin, never having asked the ordinary questions people thought of when faced with a budding friendship, such as 'What's your favorite food?' or, 'Do you like music?' No, she didn't know him that way. More in a way that suggested a deeper bond, one that went beyond human life.

To death...

Mai's mouth twitched into a frown, taking the hand Gene had held out to her.

"I thought you were gone?" She looked down, embarrassed at how the question had come out a little more accusatory than she had wanted it to. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like that..."

He grinned at her, loosening, but not letting go of her hand as he led her through the haze of white. Was it her imagination, or did his eyes not quite match up with his smile...

"What are you two doing?" Always. Why did that voice always have to cut into her thoughts at the worst moments? Mai turned towards the voice, ready to ask that exact question, though possibly in not such a polite way, when the oddness of the situation occurred to her.

Naru's voice was in her dream?

And there he stood as well. Tall, proud, and handsome as always. Though the arrogance in his stance couldn't keep the confusion out of his expression.

"Gene.." The downward turn of his mouth only elongated his beautiful face, while she was sure hers probably just made her look mentally challenged. Life was incredibly unfair.

Gene didn't even glance at Naru, though. His smile had faded as he took in Mai's face, and squeezed her hand gently. "Your power's grown, I see..."His voice sounded contemplative, resembling a tone she remembered usually only having heard when something serious, and possibly scary, was going on.

Gene's eyebrows knitted together as he took in the sight of Noll, who had apparently grown tired of being ignored and had stepped between the two, effectively ruining any semblance of closeness that had been previously held.

"Yes, that's pretty obvious." He muttered, glaring at Gene, taking his stand at the plate. "I'm more concerned at the moment on the reason why _you're _here. I've been getting dragged into these dreams for two weeks, now, and I've never once felt your presence. "

Mai's comprehensibility dropped measurably when she heard that statement, her mouth forming a question that died on her lips.

'_He's...what? Two weeks?' _

She dragged herself away from her thoughts as Gene answered his brother.

"I've been asleep." Gene answered, dryly. "Honestly, you never change, Noll." His voice was slightly mocking, but his gentle smile had returned. It was..truly breathtaking, but it didn't compare to what Mai felt, just watching the two of them together. The way they carried themselves, even, totally changed as they talked. The tension in Naru's posture faded away, the sadness in Gene's eyes dulled to a minimum.

The two had walked a little ways away now, every minute or so one of them, usually Gene, would look to check if Mai was still there. Mai didn't want to be nosy, but she figured, seeing as this was essentially _her _dream, the Gods couldn't look too down upon her if she listened in just a little...Right?

"-I don't care, Noll. You know you shouldn't have come."

It seemed she had started listening it at just the right time. The twins were engaged in what must have been a heated discussion, though Gene's tone wasn't as much angry as it was worried. She couldn't hear Naru as well as Gene for some reason, only catching glimpses of what he was saying. Like an out of area radio.

"-being ridiculous, I-"

"Mom is probably so pissed." Was the last thing Gene bit out, before noticing how close Mai had creeped on them. He shot Naru a pointed look, who in turn glanced over at Mai and sighed, as if he were witnessing the misgivings of an odd, but endearing child.

She wasn't sure if that was more, or less condescending than his normal attitude towards her.

"Mai. Was this the first time you've had a dream like this since I went back to England?" Naru asked simply, crossing his arms over his chest. He had that look on his face that told Mai he had probably already fore-sought the answer, but was asking just for re-affirm it. And stroke his ego.

"I think so.." She answered, tapping her finger on her chin. "Honestly, though, I can't really remember any of my dreams from the past month. It might sound odd, but it never really occurred to me, since it's never been that uncommon for me, except when we were on a case."

He nodded, satisfied with the answer and turned back to Gene. "You've been scolding me, but that's just to cover up your own miscalculations, isn't it? You know this is your fault, right?"

Gene flushed, his words coming out too fast and unorganized. Embarrassed, and possibly a bit annoyed, Gene looked so alike Mai that it was uncanny.

Mai placed her hands on her hips, curiosity getting the best of her. "Gene's fault? What? The fact that he's still here, or that now, you are too? And what were you two talking about before? I asked you why you were reported missing when we got to the hotel, but you wouldn't tell me. You just up and left without telling anyone, didn't you? Naru.."

"I imagine Mom and Dad didn't want him back here, what with my killer still on the loose and everything." Gene explained to Mai sympathetically, shooting another annoyed expression at Naru. "And they were right, you know. You could've just called Mai, instead of rushing over here. That's a lot more like something I would have done, isn't it, Noll?" He smirked, turning the condescending tone right back onto his brother.

"The headaches were getting to me." Naru attempted feebly, much to Mai's surprise. He avoided Mai's gaze, and instead looked over her shoulder. His eyes widened.

"Mai..Isn't that Urado's mansion?" Mai and Gene turned around, Mai's breath coming out in a gasp as she recognized the eery mansion in the distance of the hazy dreamworld. "Yeah..That's it alright. But why is it here? Didn't it burn down after we left?"

Naru and Gene shared a grim expression.

"You idiot." Was all Naru said, his signature phrase for once projected towards someone else than Mai.

Though, now that she thought about it, that fact didn't comfort her in the least bit.

* * *

><p>"I think we should go towards it." Mai finally spoke amidst the silence and worried glances Gene kept giving her every couple seconds.<p>

The previous annoyed look on Naru's face only deepened, though Mai was pretty sure he had anticipated one of them saying that.

"Not a good idea." His reply was short, as he was a bit preoccupied looking for _something _in the haze. "Noll, the exit's that way." Gene pointed left, a bored tone colouring his voice. Mai gazed at Gene, a helplessness dominating her usually illuminated brown eyes.

"So..We're going to leave him?" She was, for obvious reasons, reluctant to leave the spirit of the boy she hadn't seen in a month, especially in front of Urado's mansion.

"There isn't much else we can do at the moment. It's too dangerous to get near that mansion, if my theory's correct." 'Which it is.' Was soundlessly added on to Naru's matter of fact tone. Mai didn't know what his theory was, and although she was curious, at the moment she felt even more exhausted than she had before falling asleep, so she figured it was a wise decision to wait to ask questions until they were awake, and she no longer had to exert her ability. Which had apparently grown an enormous amount since the time Naru had been gone.

'What else is new..?' She thought, sighing and giving Gene a quick hug before walking over where Naru was. "Well...We'll see you soon..?" Mai asked, uncertainty clear in her lilting voice. Gene nodded, giving the two of them a smile and waving them off. Mai was sure she heard Naru say something to Gene as they walked away, but his voice had become harder to discern from fantasy to reality the closer they walked towards the 'exit'.

'_What about mirrors..?'_

* * *

><p>Mai opened her eyes, met with the stagnant air of the hotel room.<p>

"We have to talk."

* * *

><p>EndChapter. c;<p> 


	5. Withdrawal

**Welp, here it is. c: Shortness. D:  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Mai grimaced up at her boss, who had apparently woken up before her and had now brought it upon himself to invade her personal space bubble. Her face morphing into a predictable pout, she blushed at the close proximity between the two and sat up, combing her hair back with her fingers.<p>

"Could I have some air?" She ground out sarcastically, trying to cover up her obviously flustered appearance.

"You have no sense of priority, do you?" A surprisingly mirthful voice asked from beside her, as she avoided his gaze and got up. Mai's eyes were drawn to his at the tone, however, though she quickly wished she would've just avoided the curiosity fed confrontation all together.

'_He looks so much like his brother, when he's not so busy scowling..' _

"It's really a waste, you know." She bit out, ignoring his jab at her and trying, but failing, to ignore the sudden butterflies in her chest.

Naru rolled his eyes, catching on to what she had meant right away. "Obviously it's not, judging by your reaction. Now, what are you doing? If you're not going to sit down go make some tea."

He retorted and turned his back to her, opening up the book he had been rifling through before he had went to bed. Mai would have loved to have questioned him on what he found interesting about the book, but her intuition and common sense told her that it wasn't a good idea to bring up a subject she was supposed to know nothing about.

Still...

She walked into the kitchen, vaguely pondering on how in the world the caffeine addicted jerk had gone on this long without demanding his fix. Maybe her tea was too bitter? Eh, it's not like she had ever poisoned it or anything...

Well, there was that _one _time, but that was purely an accident.

_Purely._

"The hotel doesn't seem to be stocked with any black tea. They probably have some down stairs, though. Want me to go check it out?" The assistant asked him from the kitchen, too absorbed in her inner thoughts to notice that he was on the phone.

"Naru?"

The voice in the kitchen became louder, and subsequently more annoyed, as the older teen ignored her in favor of the person on the other end of the phone line. A minute later an extremely irate Mai stomped into the bed area, letting out a biiiig sigh as she noticed what the teen was doing.

"Oh." She scowled at him before grabbing her coat off of the little dresser on the side of her bed.

"I'll be back in a few minutes.." She mumbled. The room remained quiet.

_"...Could've just said that you were on the phone! ...Jerk.."_

_Slam. _

* * *

><p>Naru exhaled heavily at the scene in front of him, setting down the phone and pressing a hand to the bridge of his nose. Madoka was the furthest thing from pleased with him, Lin was choosing to remain neutral with a slight passive aggressive angle of siding with her, and his adoptive parents were about ready to send half of SPR to drag him back to England.<p>

And none of this even began to describe the load of trouble that his flighty former assistant was beginning to cause.

"Y'know you're going to get wrinkles, always frowning like that." A half amused voice declared from behind him.

"Go away, Gene." Naru sighed, again. '_This is all your fault.' _ He added on silently. Somehow, like always, Gene seemed to hear him. Gene's scoff bounced through the empty room, choosing to reign supreme over the staggering glares Naru aimed at the wall in front of him.

"Noll, don't be like that. Turn around and face your brother~" His voice had a sing-song quality to it that annoyed Naru to no end. He knew if he didn't calm down soon objects would likely start to shake throughout the room soon, not to mention how he already felt like passing out over the headache that was about splitting his head open. How could his brother and _her _be so much alike?

Really, they were perfect for each other.

It was insane, illogical, irresponsible, _infuri-_

"I can still hear you~"The mirror behind the teen boy cracked.

"_Go away. _I have no time for childish antics."

The mirror-or rather the spirit inside of it, sighed in defeat.

"Fine. I'll let you know if anything changes. Idiot scientist."

Naru exhaled, marginally calming himself, and glanced back at the mirror. "Wait."

The reflection in the glass raised it's eyebrows in surprise, angling it's head to the side in mock confusion.

"What should I say to her?"

* * *

><p>"Mai hummed, strolling along the halls of the hotel and peacefully swinging the little bag of goodies she had acquired in the dining hall. The place surprisingly carried no black tea, but was abundant in both Green and Earl Grey. Her picky former boss had no preference for either, annoyingly enough, but he didn't mind the latter if it had plenty of sugar in it.<p>

Unfortunately, Mai had forgotten how irritable sugar made her boss, and whether such a statement was closer to fact or opinion, the grisly results of the observation were soon to come to light.

* * *

><p>"You're really such an idiot."<p>

'_Is that seriously your best insult...?' _

Mai quite literally face palmed-into her fresh cup of tea.

"Well, excuse me for not spending every waking hour of my life reading about psychic theories and whatnot. Am I not allowed to have a life?" She spat out, standing up and desperately searching for napkins. 'This is going to stain...!'

"Actually, don't even answer that question."

"I'm not even trying to antagonize you right now. You just truly must have an IQ ranging in the double digits with your foul intellect." And to her genuine _annoyance, _the man really did seem to only be half kidding. He even had the nerve to look vaguely intrigued at her apparent lack of a brain.

"And you have the _emotional range _of a growth stunted carrot."

Mai mopped at the stain on her shirt, attempting to keep her scowling to a minimum and cursing herself for giving him anything with sugar in it. Most people usually observed how negative sugar affected children, 'bouncing off the walls' and talking a mile a minute? Well, Naru was a bit like that.

A bit, but about ten times worse. No wonder he didn't like sweets.

"It's going to be ruined if you keep at that." Mai blanched as she felt a cool hand on her shoulder, surprised to find an equally icy set of eyes gazing back at her when she looked for the source. Naru took the napkin from her, balling it up in his fist.

"I had an attendant drop off some spare clothes while you were gone, go change."

Something in the atmosphere had changed, just then. It was then that Mai realized what a serious situation the two were in. She bit her lip and nodded, rummaging through her side of the room and then quietly entering the bathroom.

Naru sat down, smoothing out the crinkled napkin with his palms and waiting for the after-affects of the sugary tea to fade.

* * *

><p><em>"Don't leave me! You can't...I can't be alone.."<em>

_The little girl's screams of anguish had devolved to incoherent sobs, the scene flickering through various situations, each as indiscernible as the one before. The only thing visible thing was the blood. Raining, dripping, flowing down the pavement and flooding every sense of contentment in the one witnessing it. All that was left was despair, and the feeling of being completely and utterly alone. _

_She was alone. Mai was alone. _

_And the stench was neither bitter copper or sickly sweet. Just death. The smell of death, inexplicable in its own right. But it reeked of something which the young man witnessing it had already experienced far too many times to count. _

_Death smelled of fear.  
><em>

* * *

><p>He barely heard the click of the door as it opened, soft thuds of footfalls walking across the floor to the small desk where he sat. The napkin lay there, innocent and unassuming, smelling of stale tea laced with a saccharine undertone. Naru knew that his own ability had always been rather unpredictable when it was left to its own devices, but even taking his own present vulnerability into account, having such an unrelated memory invading his mind was...startling.<p>

He kept his expression blank, internally reviewing what little useful advice Gene had given him in their earlier conversation.

"Naru, I'm good to go now! Naru? Na-ru." The young teen met the gaze of the older one, her mouth quickly snapping closed as she caught a glimpse of his eyes. They were burning beneath the glow of the light in the room.

"Naru, are you-" And then it was gone. He looked as genuinely uninterested as usual, his eyes just as hooded and condescending as usual. It was all far too surreal. Mai perched herself on top of the desk he had been sitting at, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

"Well? You said we had to talk.." Her face was turned into a frown as she gazed towards the floor. "If you're up for it, now." She tacked on, trying to perk up and act a bit more like her usual self.

"I know." He finally answered, his tone sounding reflectively uninterested in the conversation. "But you're going to have to wait for an explanation. We'll be on the plane tomorrow. We're going to the research center of SPR in England."

**_"...Eh?"_**

The self-admitted narcissist smirked at her unintelligible response, looking more like his old self than he had in months.

* * *

><p><strong>Endchapter. You have to wonder if Naru thinks Mai's <em>that <em>dumb, or if he just sucks at thinking up creative insults. o.o; Feedback is love~**


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